The collaboration will provide scientists with
optimized, robust solutions for genomic research, fortified by
end-to-end support.

According to Greg Fisher, associate director of
product marketing for Affymetrix, the company is making its growing
list of automated target preparation methods available in conjunction
with Beckman Coulter's Biomek FXp Dual Arm Multichannel-Span 8 Liquid
Handler for stronger, optimized solutions for genomic research.

"We have other plans in the works to expand these activities to other Beckman systems," he notes.

Fisher adds that benefits of the solution will
include the flexibility to process samples using Affymetrix GeneChip
Arrays or Array Plates with a single method, user-friendly interfaces,
rapid implementation of new methods, a validated platform, elimination
of costly mistakes and delivery of high-quality results.

"Customer feedback showed us both that after the
introduction of the GeneTitan System, the workflow bottleneck for
scientists moved from array processing to target preparation," Fisher
says. "Customers wanted to see that area automated, and that is what
drove us to come together to enter into this co-marketing agreement,
and that helped direct the focus of the collaboration. The idea is to
provide a menu of assay methods that provide a wide range of solutions
supporting a diverse set of genomic research applications."

Selecting Beckman Coulter was a collaborator was
an easy process for Affymetrix, according to Fisher, because of
existing relationships.

"We had already been working with them as a
premier application provider for some time," he says. "Given that our
domain expertise is in microarrays and microarray processing, it is
natural for us to partner with the premier provider of liquid-handling
platforms to best serve our mutual customers."

According to Kevin King, president and CEO of
Affymetrix, Beckman Coulter's long history in manufacturing quality
automation platforms with proven reliability make the company the ideal
partner for developing automated target prep assays.

"These products not only provide a much needed
target prep solution for our large installed base of GeneChip Array
cartridge users, but very importantly, this agreement aligns with our
strategic goals to reengineer the Affymetrix platform," King notes.
"With automated target prep robotics in front of our GeneTitan System,
our customers will benefit from walk-away automation from prepared
samples all the way through array processing and data generation."

Beckman continues to be drawn to Affymetrix
because its genomics expertise and technologies are a great match for
Beckman Coulter's automation solutions, notes Wing Pang, corporate vice
president of discovery products at Beckman Coulter.

"Customers will soon see the fruits of this
collaboration with the availability of automated target prep solutions
for microarrays that address a wide range of sophisticated genetic
analysis assays," notes Pang.

Beckman Coulter and Propel Labs to collaborate on flow cytometry

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif.—Beckman Coulter Inc. also announced last month that it has entered into a strategic alliance with Propel Labs LLC,
a privately held bio-instrumentation development company specializing
in flow cytometry. As part of this alliance, Propel will support
Beckman Coulter with field upgrades of MoFlo instruments to the
specifications associated with the more recent XDP version. Financial
terms of the partnership were not released.

"Customers that have MoFlo systems are extremely
loyal to the product and have been for many years," says Brad Calvin,
vice president of Beckman Coulter's Flow Cytometry Business Center.
"This alliance demonstrates our continued support for these customers
and a product that has become central to their research applications."